Railway-spike.



C. `L. COLUMBIA.

AAAAAAAAAAA E.

. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII E 1, 190s. 93 1,272. Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

ZI/Zinessesz* Meh/Z0? 'l UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

CHARLES LY COLUMBIA, OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-SPIKE.

To all whom fit lmay concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. COLUM- BIA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Orange, in the county of Orange and State of California, have invented a new and useful Railway-Spike, of which the following i`s a specification.

This invention relates to a bifurcated railway spike, and the object of the invention is to insure the automatic clenching o f said spike inside the solid wood of the railway tie.

In this inventionthe points of the bulged out bifurcations of the tie are beveled, and the inner faces of said points in the normal condition of the spike before driving, stand aslant with their uppermost edges in contact or nearl so, and diverge thence away from the hea of the spike to the tips of the bifurcations. I-n this way when the spikev is started to be driven, the bifurcations rapidly spread apart and are certain to become .clenched-inside the stick of timber.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the f invention.

Figure 1 is a view of a spike constructed in accordancewith this invention. Fig. 2 is a View of a spike partly driven in a tie which is shown in fragmentary section tol hold a rail, a fragment of which is shown. Different positions of the spike -as the same is further driven are indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is'fa vfraginental View showing the spike fully driven home in a tie to secure a rail in place. Fig. 4 is an end view of a spike before'the same is driven.

1 designates the head; 2, lthe solid shank,

3, 4, reversely-loowedv furcations forming the Specification of Letters Patent. Application led June 1,

Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

190s. serial No. '136;132.

l insertion end of the spike. Said furcations are beveled on their adjacent faces as shown at 5 and 6, and the outer faces 7' of the spike are converging at the lower end of the spike. However, the angle of the inner face with said line is greater than that of the outer face so that as the spike is driven, the point will be directed away from the axis of the spike, as indicated in Fig. 2, and as the spike is driven, this tendency increases until the spike is fully driven,/when its prongs will be widely separated as shown in Fig. 3.

By providing the inner beveled faces, and by bowing the prongs it is made possible to drive the spike to a considerable depth,-

say, one-half the length of the furcations before'the spreading effect is of any consequence; but as the pressure of the materlal of the tie begins to force the bowed portions of the prongs together, the angle ofthe inner faces ofl'such prongs with the extended axis 15th day of May, 1908.

CHARLES L. COLUMBIA.. In presence of JAMES R. TowNsEND,

M. BULAH TowNsnNn.

my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 

